Choke on Your Misery

Alex

I paced back and forth near my front door, waiting impatiently. It was already six; I needed to leave now to take Zack out to dinner, but I was waiting for Jack to get here. I had planned a little “party” for Zack with our friends. It was more of a gathering because there wouldn’t be that many of us. Jack had offered to come over while Zack and I went out to dinner, so everyone could be in my house before we got back.

I heard a knock at the door and opened it, sighing in relief when I saw Jack. “There you are!”

“Sorry, I had to convince my mom to let me drive the car. She’s afraid I’ll wreck it, since I just got my license a few days ago,” Jack said, coming inside.

“I was afraid you’d crash into my living room window,” I chuckled.

“Shut up,” Jack flipped me off.

I laughed, picking up my wallet, “Zack and I should be back in an hour or so. Just set out the food and shit when the guys come over. Oh, and watch Baz; don’t let him pee in excitement when the others come over.” Hearing his name, Baz came trotting into the living room and bounced around happily when he saw Jack

“So that means I can’t do that either?” Jack whined, kneeling down to pet Baz.

“Please don’t piss on my furniture,” I rolled my eyes. “Just set up, keep an eye on Baz and don’t break anything... either of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, go take your boyfriend out,” Jack said, pushing me toward the door.

I shut my front door behind me as I went outside, walking across the lawn to Zack’s house. I rang the doorbell and Zack opened the door within a few seconds, smiling when he saw me. “Hey ‘Lex,” he greeted, turning away from the door for a second and calling, “Mom, I’m leaving.”

“Have fun, boys!” his mom called back. Zack stepped outside, shutting the door behind him.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” Zack asked.

I chuckled, kissing him on the cheek and leading him to my car, “We’re going to go to dinner and then heading back to my house for a bit. Is that okay?” I asked.

“Sounds good to me,” he said, nodding.

I drove to the restaurant, which was just outside of town. It was a small Italian restaurant; I had chosen it because it's never very busy, but the food is amazing.

"I used to come here a lot with my mom, whenever we went out for dinner," I told Zack as I pulled into the parking lot.

"I've never been here. I didn't even know this place was here," Zack said, looking over at me.

I parked the car, turning the key and pulling it out of the ignition, "It's a nice place. There usually aren't many people here."

Zack nodded, and we both got out of the car. I put my hand on the small of his back lightly as we walked inside. One of the waitresses came up to us, and I smiled when I recognized her. Her name was Carol, and she was in her mid-fifties. She had come to know my mom and I by name when we used to come here often.

"Oh my, if it isn't Alexander Gaskarth! You've grown up since the last time I saw you here!" Carol said with a smile, also recognizing me.

"Yep; that tends to happen in high school," I chuckled. "This is my boyfriend, Zack."

Zack mumbled a polite 'hi' to her, and she smiled. "It's nice to meet you! Come with me; I'll get you boys a table." Carol led us to a small booth in the corner of the restaurant, secluded from the other people in here. There were only three other groups of people here right now. She gave us a few minutes to decide what we would be eating, then left us alone after taking our orders.

Zack looked up at me as she left, "She's... perky."

"She's a friend of my mom's," I chuckled, reaching out to hold his hands across the top of the table. "She's a sweet lady, though."

"She's definitely nice," Zack agreed, nodding. "Thank you for taking me out to dinner, by the way."

"No problem," I shrugged, "I wanted to take you out on a date and your birthday was the perfect time to do it."

We talked aimlessly for a while, before our dinner arrived. We continued to chat, and toward the end of dinner I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I frowned, holding up one finger, “Hold that thought, Zack.”

Zack paused in the middle of his sentence as I pulled out my phone. I sighed; Jack was texting me.

To: Alex
From: Jack
Everyone’s here

To: Jack
From: Alex
Okay good. Now leave me alone dammit, I’m on a date

I looked up again, smiling at Zack. “Sorry babe. What were you saying?” I asked.

“I was sayin-” Zack began, but stopped as my phone vibrated again with another message.

“Seriously?” I huffed a sigh, snapping it open.

To: Alex
From: Jack
Um, one more thing. Was the rug in the living room important?

My eyes widened and I immediately dialed Jack’s number, standing up. “I’ll be back in a minute, Zack,” I said apologetically, going into the bathroom as I waited for Jack to pick up his phone.

“Don’t kill me,” Jack said as he answered the phone.

“What the fuck happened to the rug in the living room?” I questioned, trying to keep my voice quiet.

“Well, the guys came over, right? I tried to keep Baz in the kitchen, because I didn’t want him going nuts. But Rian went into the kitchen, and Baz tore out of there like his ass was on fire, and he was all excited to see everyone, so uh, he pissed all over the rug. And Matt tripped over Baz and he’s kind of ticked off that he tripped and fell into the rug near your dog’s pee. I had to give him one of your shirts,” Jack said quickly.

I chuckled at the thought of Matt falling into Baz’s pee, shaking my head, “Just go put Baz in my room for now and toss that rug into the washing machine. I’m pretty sure it can be washed in there.”

“I have to do laundry?” Jack whined.

“Yeah, unless you want to wash it by hand,” I said, and he groaned. “Zack and I are going to leave in a little while, so let me get back to our date before he hates me, alright?”

“Oh, right. Bye!” Jack hung up and I rolled my eyes, going back out to the table where Zack was pushing the last of his food around with his fork.

“I’m so sorry, babe. Jack was being a jackass,” I apologized, looking at him.

Zack nodded, smiling slightly, “It’s fine, ‘Lex.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m done eating,” Zack nodded, starting to reach for the bill. I grabbed it before he could, smiling sweetly at him.

“Nuh-uh; I’m paying,” I told him, and he sighed.

“At least let me leave the tip,” he insisted.

I shook my head, “You don’t have to.”

“I’m going to anyway,” Zack said, pulling his wallet out to leave the tip on the table after he looked at the bill. I chuckled, getting up and taking his hand as we walked up to pay and leave the restaurant. Once we were almost home, Zack looked over at me. “So we’re going back to your house?”

“Yep, and my mom’s not home so you can stay as long as you’d like,” I smiled. I turned onto our street, praying that the boys had the sense to park somewhere other than my house. I had sent them a text as we left, telling them we would be there soon. I let out a breath of relief when I saw that there were no cars parked in my driveway, and the lights were out. It was almost eight o’clock, so lights in the house would have been obvious.

I parked the car and got out, heading up to my house with Zack and unlocking the front door. I flicked on my lights and groaned, seeing the guys. Jack, Rian, Matt, Evan, and Grieco were just sitting around the living room, and jumped up when they heard us come in.

“Hey, what happened to saying ‘surprise’ when I came in with Zack?” I complained, glancing over at Zack, who did seem to be surprised, fortunately.

“Fuck! Go back outside so we can do this again,” Jack said, trying to shoo us out.

Zack chuckled, “That’s not necessary; I got the point.”

“You guys suck,” I whined, tugging Zack away from the door with me.

“You two are the gay couple; I’m pretty sure that’s your job,” Evan smirked at us.

I rolled my eyes, “Touché.” Rian went to switch some music on, and Zack nudged me in the side with our hands. “Hmm?” I looked up at him.

“You thought of doing this?” he questioned, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I blushed, “Yeah. I thought it would be nice to just hang out with me and some of your friends, since your birthday was spent with your family. Sorry if you didn’t want to... it’s not much-”

Zack silenced me with a soft kiss, and I smiled slightly into it. He pulled back, squeezing my hand. “Thank you, Alex. It means a lot; I don’t mind that it’s only a few people. I only have a few friends, anyway.”

“I’m glad you like it. And I didn’t tell you the best part yet,” I said with a smirk. “You can stay the night over here, if you’d like.”

Zack raised an eyebrow, “But my parents expect me home tonight.”

“Nope. Your mom told me she’d let you stay over here,” I said, shaking my head.

“No way; my mom wouldn’t agree to that,” he said doubtfully.

“Ah, but she did. She must like me,” I grinned. “She said you could stay over here as long as I didn’t force you into doing anything you don’t wanna,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

Zack chuckled, cheeks flushing a bit at the last part. “Well, I guess I’ll stay here then.”

“So in other words, you two are gonna fuck?” Grieco piped up, abandoning the conversation with the other guys.

“No, Grieco; shut up,” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Don’t sound so eager, you pervert,” Matt said with a laugh.

“I was just asking!” Grieco defended, crossing his arms.

“Sure you were.”